1 Chapter 1

"Souta Akiara, you have no right in refusing my deal!" Sumire said. Souta rolled his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree. Souta was in a sticky predicament. His mentor had heard that Souta had been released by the Royal Imperial Court of Talented Fighters, so his mentor had come to lecture him.

"Yeah, yeah. It was too much work anyways." Souta said. Sumire walked over to him and smacked his head. Souta held his head as he felt his head swelling from the older woman's smack.

"Hey! What was that for?" Souta groaned. He rubbed his head, trying to make the pain go away.

"I did not train a failure!" Sumire said, pointing at Souta. Souta looked up, the same bored expression on his face.

"Well, I have no interest in teaching the "future generations" how to become a master in the fighting arts. I'm just an average man with average fighting skills." Souta said. Sumire felt a vein in her cheek bulge in anger.

"You are not an "average man with average fighting skills," and you know that. I would not have gone through so much effort and spent so much on resources just to boost your skills if I did not see so much potential in you." Sumire said. Souta grumbled and stood up, brushing his messy hair back.

"Yeah, whatever. Teaching children who are old enough to learn and make their own arts is so energy consuming." Souta said, sighing.

"Well, not every fighter is like you who was already better than some of the sect masters by the time you were 14. You disappeared after you were released 2 years ago. For 4 years, you were off the grid, no one could contact you. I'm giving you a chance at a normal life, teaching young adults how to fight before they go on with their lives." Sumire said. Souta thought about it before turning around and leaving, waving at Sumire from over his shoulder.

"Well, good luck finding another teacher. I'm out." Souta said. Sumire grumbled as she thought of how to convince him to teach at the school.

"You get to have delicious food if you become a teacher!" Sumire called out. Souta stopped in his footsteps, before running over to her.

"Is the food free?" He asked, his eyes shining. Sumire nodded, and Souta smirked.

"I'm in!" Souta said happily. Sumire rolled her eyes, knowing Souta's weak spot after training him for almost 6 years.

'How much longer are you going to be so adamant on not helping this world because you are waiting for the new world to come? The other 4 elements aren't coming anytime soon. Even you know that you have to find your Light to find the other 3.' Sumire thought.

~The Next Day~

"Emica~chan! Where are you? We need to get going!" Hanae called out. Emica looked at herself in the mirror before putting her locket under her uniform shirt. She rushed downstairs and grabbed her bag, looking at Hanae.

"I can't wait to see who our new substitute teacher is! I really hope it's someone that is really powerful and experienced!" Emica said excitedly. She was very passionate about learning and creating new arts. She was still young, but she had already excelled in mastering many Battle Maniac techniques, including the fusion martial arts, the sharpshooter bow technique, and the advanced energy distribution technique.

Hanae laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the house. They ran to school, even if they didn't have to. But just the drive of improving to become better made them excited.

~Time Skip~

Class 2-A was waiting for the teacher. The period was halfway over, and the teacher had not yet shown up.

"Hanae, do you know where the teacher is?" Emica asks. Hanae shakes her head, feeling very confused.

Everyone jumped as the door slammed open, revealing a young man.

"Hello class, I am your substitute teacher, Souta Akiara." He said, slouching over to the desk. Everyone looked in shock as they saw their substitute sit down, leaning the chair against the wall and propping his feet up on the desk.

"So, can someone tell me what you guys are supposed to be doing this period?" He asked. Everyone was still in their shocked stupor, trying to wrap their heads around what was going on.

"Sir, why are you late?" Emica asked, standing up. Souta looked at her before his eyes flashed.

"Because… I slept in?" Souta suggested. Emica got angry at his nonchalant answer.

'Who does this man think he is? How can such a lazy person be a substitute at this prestigious school?'

"Emica~chan, calm down," Hanae said. Souta looked at the two girls, and two words appeared in his head.

'Tsundere and loli.' Souta put his chair down and waved his hand, calling the classes attention.

"You have a self-study this period. I'm gonna take a nap." Souta put his head down and closed his eyes, leaving his class very baffled.

Emica shook as she felt herself be repulsed by Souta's behavior.

Oh, but that was just the beginning.

~Period 2~

Self-study.

~Period 3~

Self-study.

~Period 4~

Self-study.

~Period 5~

Self-study.

~Period 6~

Emica's temper had blazed inside her. She was sick of the teacher's attitude. She wouldn't stand for it, even if he came through with Professor Sumire's suggestion.

"Alright, this period, you guys will self-study and-"

"Sensei! You are a teacher, but your conduct is disgraceful for this prestigious school! I will request that you take your job more seriously or I will report you to my father, and he will banish you from this kingdom!" Emica proclaimed. Souta looked at her before his face became questioning.

"Who's your father? What even is the name of this school?" Souta asked. Emica felt a vein bulge as she walked over to Souta.

"My father is the King! And how can you not even know the name of this school? It is the prestigious Yin Yang Academy!" Emica said. Souta shrugged before leaning back in his chair.

"Again, don't care," Souta said, closing his eyes. Emica trembled before she smacked the teacher, the class looking on in shock.

"Sensei, I challenge you to a battle!" Emica proposed. Souta held his head before standing up and walking outside.

"Where do you think you're going?" Emica asked, perplexed.

"You said that you wanted a battle. Let's go outside. I'd rather not be put at fault for ruining a classroom." Souta replied before walking out.

Emica looked surprised before following the teacher, the other students following.

"Emica~chan, why did you challenge Sensei?" Hanae asked, almost running to keep up with Emica's pace.

"Because that bastard needs to be taught a lesson in respect and diligence," Emica said, her pace speeding up. Hanae sighed and struggle to keep up with Emica.

~Field~

"What are the rules?" Souta asked, his posture in a very casual manner.

"Since you are so confident in your abilities, you can come up with the rules," Emica said. Her pride was her mastery over many beginner and intermediate foundations, as well as Battle Maniac's and Battle Inert techniques.

"Alright. We'll be doing a battle to see who can chant spells faster. The class will decide the winner based on speed, accuracy, and power of the chant and spell. We'll do three rounds. The first round will be Lightning Strike. The second round will be Fire Blast. The third round will be Hydro Enhancement." Souta said. Emica nodded before pointing out her hand. She was very confident in her chanting because it was a skill that she worked on the most.

Lightning Strike was used mainly to paralyze or stun an opponent. It could also be used for it's distracting element. The goal of chanting was to do it faster, but still, keep or improve the power of the original spell.

The original chant for Lightning Strike was, 'Thunder rolling in the sky, lightning coming in the night, I call upon the storm above, strike the ground with a shining light.' To limit four verses to fewer, or even a couple of words was challenging, especially to get the correct outcome.

"Thunder rolling, lightning coming, strike the ground with shining light!" Emica said, targeting the ground. Her chant speed was fast, but the strike was still as powerful as the original. It hit the ground, the impact creating a huge charred hole to appear.

The class was impressed by her chant. Managing to create a spell that was equal in power, but limiting it to three verses was impressive.

"My turn," Souta said. He pointed at a large area and started his chant.

"Hey, strike." He said casually. The sky rumbled and darkened before a large lightning strike hit the ground. Everyone covered their eyes, or else the light would have blinded them.

When everyone recovered, they looked on in shock. The strike had created a medium sized crater, char covering almost 4 meters from the hole.

'So… powerful!' The class thought.

"H-how? How can someone so lazy be so powerful? That attack could challenge an Imperial Army battler!" Emica said.

"A half-hearted chant such as that can create an attack so powerful?" Hanae muttered. Souta frowned, looking at the hole.

'That wasn't as powerful as the last time I used it. I'm getting rusty.' Souta thought. He looked up and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Who won the first round?" Souta asked. Emica shook in anger at the haughtiness of Souta.

"I think Sensei won…" The class murmured. Emica felt her pride shatter, but she refused to admit defeat.

"Sensei! You may have won this round, but you will not win the second round!" Emica said. Souta sighed, before waving his hand, gesturing for her to continue.

"Let's get on with the Fire Blast chant," Souta said.

Fire Blast is an offensive spell that could range from a large fireball to small fire bullets. The spell relied on how stable you could control the power of the spell. The original spell was, 'Volcanic eruptions, blazing fires, compact, and throw your burning light on the unjust."

"Volcanoes and fires, burn those who are unjust!" Emica said, targeting a large boulder. 5 fireballs the size of fists appeared before spiraling towards the stone. The fireballs hit the boulder, causing half of it to be eroded.

The class felt fear strike into their hearts. A young adult had so much power, so much skill, that it could challenge even a Chaotic Battler!

"Impressive," Souta said, clapping. He pointed at another large boulder, his eyes sharpening.

"Burn the injustice." He said. A large fireball the size of 20 fists surrounded by fire bullets the size of 5 fists. It sped at the sound of light towards the boulder. A large explosion hit the boulder, smashing it smithereens.

"Whaaaaaa?" Emica cried out, her hair flipping about from the air from the impact.

"So, the verdict?" Souta asked. He already knew that he could easily defeat her, but attracting too much attention to his abilities was too risky.

"You... won," Emica said. She could not believe that this contemptible man was able to beat her, twice!

"You will not defeat me in this third round!" Emica said. Souta shrugged, not really caring about what was happening.

"Alright, onto the Hydro Enhancement. For this chant, we can use any First-Level spell." Souta said.

Hyrdo Enhancement was used to make a spell more powerful. It all depended on how well they could control the original spell. If they could keep the spell from exploding, the enhancement chant would make the spell up to 200% stronger. If the spellcaster could not keep the spell from shaking, the enhancement would only go up to 25% stronger.

The original chant was, 'Light above, shine upon the water below, dazzle the heavens, and enhance this blow.'

'I can't lose this last round! I have to at least beat this man in one thing!' Emica speculated. She could not let her pride in being a royal be shattered.

"Whirlwind cry, whip around, strike!" Emica chanted. A large tornado appeared on the ground. The tornado wobbled around a little bit, but it eventually stabilized.

"Light shine and dazzle, enhance!" Her hand glowed a soft gold and the tornado became fiercer, picking up more stray rocks and dirt.

A couple of kids had to put up some spell shields to keep the class from getting injured by all the flying debris.

Souta clapped, a little impressed.

'Impressive, for an average person.' He thought.

"Be gone." He chanted. A black hole appeared. He controlled it, so it was facing away from the school.

"Do better." The black hole expanded, the power coming from it doubled. He released it and the black hole turned into a ray, making everything in its path disappear.

"E-extinction Shot?!" Emica said, shocked. Extinction Shot was the most powerful and difficult spell of the First-Level spellcasters.

There were different type of Fighting Arts. The relative Fighting Arts were foundations of what route you want to go. You could be a swordsman, a martial artist, or a spell caster. A swordsman was more upfront fighting. Martial artist was more offense and defense. A spellcaster was on the defense side. All could fight and defend, but they were better in their respective stances.

"So, I guess, I win?" Souta asked, putting his hands behind his head. Emica was angry, but she put her head down. May as well admit defeat.

"Y-yes. You… win." Emica muttered, disgust covering her words.